Photos Courtesy of Charla Shults
The Pampa Lady Harvesters (1-2) played two games last week against the Lubbock Cooper Lady Pirates (5-1) and the Bushland Lady Falcons (2-0).
Head Coach Clint Watson is not upset with the results as he knows he scheduled a tough non-district schedule to prepare the team for the tough district gauntlet.
“This group of hard-working ladies is starting to grasp what I’ve been preaching in the preseason. That it doesn’t matter who you play, just play as hard as you can. All of the pre-district games are gearing us up for district. I scheduled tough games for a reason. I can tell in their demeanor that they are understanding and willing to do what it takes to continue to rise to the top,” Watson said.
The 5A Cooper team was a stiff test for the Lady Harvesters as the final score was 74-17.
“I thought once we settled down and played, positive things started happening. LBK Cooper came out and applied hard man-to-man pressure and it got to us. They were really tall, but I still like that way that we battled them on the boards. I thought our defense did a good job of flying around to the ball. We forced several turnovers and got many tipped balls on the press,” Watson said following the game against Cooper.
The game against Bushland was much closer. After the first quarter, Pampa trailed just 9-8. At halftime Bushland built a 10 point lead at 24-14. Pampa inched back a little and after three quarters the score was 31-22. The comeback chance fell short as the final score was Bushland 54, Pampa 38.
“I thought that we played well against Bushland. The first half went back and forth. We faced some adversity early on, but we battled through it. I was pretty impressed with our defensive mentality this game. We were flying around and getting steals and tipped passes. Once we started playing up-tempo and more aggressive (attacking the lane) our offense started doing lots better,” Watson said.
What are areas Watson would like to see some improvement upon this week? Pampa travels to another perennial powerhouse in Panhandle on Tuesday night.
“Still looking for someone to step up and try to be a leader. We also need to do a better job of being more aggressive from the opening tip,” Watson said.
What is he expecting to see from the Lady Panthers?
“Panhandle is going to apply full court man to man pressure. We have to be ready defensively. They push the ball up the court fast, and they have big post players inside that can score, along with great outside shooters,” Watson said.
Following that game, Pampa will head to their first tournament of the season. They won’t have to go far just down Highway 60 to Canadian. They begin early on Thursday with a 9 a.m. tipoff against the Canadian Lady Wildcats. They play again on Thursday at 1 p.m. against the Whitharral Lady Panthers. Pampa plays Friday at 2 p.m. against the Vega Longhorns. Saturday, they wrap up the tournament against the Stanton Lady Buffaloes at 9 a.m. Their final game before the Thanksgiving break will be back home at 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24 before a break until Dec. 2.
“This weekend in the Canadian tournament we have: Canadian, Whitharral. Vega, and Stanton. We will have four tough, competitive ball games,” Watson said.
Madi Barton
Every article, we are going to showcase one player on the team. This week, that player is Sophomore Guard Madi Barton.
“Sophomore Guard. Madi is a soph guard who is starting to find her niche. She plays that game the right way. She is hard working on offense and defense. She is also a great supporter of her teammates,” Watson said.
Look for a recap of the Panhandle, and Canadian Tournament games coming next week!
Again, the Lady Harvesters traveled to Panhandle Tuesday night and will travel to Canadian to play four tough opponents in their first tournament of the season starting Thursday and running through Saturday.